MIT is offered at Bendigo as well as the university's Bundoora campus.

La Trobe has also negotiated a number of HECs placements for its postgrad courses. "Due to the downturn in student numbers for undergraduate courses we have been able to swap some full fee places for HECs places," he said.

In South Australia, Flinders University associate professor and head of School of Informatics and Engineering, Janet Verbyla said its Masters course is flexible. "We try to suit the course structure to what the student is trying to achieve."

Flinders main intake is mid-year. "It is better for the overseas market, because the academic year runs on a different cycle and getting a visa can take longer. We have a lot of undergrads who would like to go onto a Masters so there is already a lot of demand there.

"We are looking at adding another Masters, which will be in a specific area and will draw on the strength of our research groups to be leading edge. We also have strength in the area of robotics and imbedded systems and we have a Masters in Engineering in smart instrumentation. The computers that are hidden in things from cars to washing machines are becoming ever increasingly important."